Second Chances
by Slash Dolo
Summary: Misty reunites with Ash in Sinnoh. Will this be a second chance at life...and at love?
1. Chapter 1: The Call

"So, what do you think, should I call her?" Ash pondered for the fifth time in the last hour.

"Pika piiii" Pikachu moaned, lying on his belly next to his trainer.

"Look, I know I'm taking a while to decide Pikachu but this is a BIG deal!" Ash said, waving his arms.

" Pikaaaaaa." Pikachu said, his eyes shuddering from fatigue.

Ash checked his watch. _Ten, huh? Maybe it would be rude to call her this late. _Ash thought. He retracted his hand from the phone and decided to call it a night.

Pikachu caught sight of this, and was not too pleased to say the least. Ash had kept him up an hour past his usual bed time just so he could have someone to ask whether he should call an old acquaintance of his. He wasn't going to let this slide.

"PIKA PI!" Pikachu screeched, instantly jumping up from his lax position. He grabbed the phone off its hook and held it in front of Ash's face.

"Ok, ok I'll call her. Geez, lighten up, will ya?"

"Cha!" Pikachu huffed, crossing his arms and turning away from Ash.

Ash carefully dialed the numbers which he found in his bag, long forgotten until now. He was sure not to dial a wrong number to save himself any embarrassment.

_Please pick up, Misty. Please pick up, Misty. What if she doesn't remember me? What if she thinks I'm some kind of creeper?_

"Hello?" A feminine voice asked over the phone.

"Uh, Misty, Hello?"

"I'm sorry, who is this?"

_Dang it! I knew I should've seen this coming._

"Uh…it's me, Ash. Remember me, from Pallet town? We traveled together for the longest time and…"

"Oh my goodness! Ash, is that really you!" She blurted out.

"Yea, it sure is! I knew you wouldn't forget me!" He said, rubbing the back of his head.

"It's so good to hear from you again, Ash. But would you mind if I asked why you're calling?"

"Oh, yeah. Well, I was traveling with this girl named Dawn, but she needed to go back home for some reason. I asked her why and she said it was deeply personal, and refused to explain it to me. I went to bed that night and when I woke up in the morning, she was gone." He explained, his voice dropping towards the end.

"Wow, I'm sorry to hear that Ash. It actually seems pretty rude of her to just up and leave like that." Misty said sympathetically.

"It's nothing really, she probably had her reasons. After all, doesn't everyone?"

"Yea, I guess so. Anyways, why are you calling me about this?"

"Uhhh, well, ya see, I didn't want to go it alone, and Brock was to busy to come along, so I was wondering if you could."

"I'd love to Ash, I really would. The problem is that I'm still leading the gym here and I don't know what would happen if I left." She reluctantly admitted.

"I'm sorry to hear that Misty. Maybe May or someone would like to come along."

Misty felt an inexplicable surge of jealousy flow through her after hearing that name. She didn't know why though, May was definitely a sweet girl, and definitely didn't deserve any unjust resentment from Misty.

"Wait! Umm…maybe I can just get my sisters to run it again!"

"That would be nice but from what you told me they weren't exactly the best battlers, at least not as good as I remember you being." Ash reasoned.

Misty felt her cheeks grow hot at his compliment. She knew that her sisters weren't the greatest battlers, but she was confident that they could at least handle themselves against the average challenger.

"I appreciate the compliment, Ash. But they've definitely learned a thing or two from yours truly and I think they wouldn't mind having another go at being the Cerulean City Gym leaders again."

"Well, if you're sure. I wouldn't want you to do something unless you were absolutely positive you wanted to."

"Don't worry about that, Ash. My sisters aren't really too hard to convince." Misty assured.

"If you say so, I just hope everything goes well."

"It'll be fine…by the way, where are you calling from, Ash?" Misty inquired.

"Some random payphone I found out here in Sinnoh. I set up camp for the night but it's pretty lonely with just me and Pikachu.

"Wow, Sinnoh? That's pretty far. I don't know how soon I can be there but I'll do my best."

"Oh there's no rush, believe me. Come whenever you can. Except I'd better go, Pikachu's getting tired."

"Ok, tell Pikachu I said high and that I'll see him soon!"

"I will. Bye!"

"Bye!"

Ash hung up the phone and looked down at Pikachu.

"Hey buddy, I got Misty to come with us on our journey! Isn't that great!"

"Pika pika!" The furry yellow Pokémon squealed in excitement.

"I know, I'm excited too! Pikachu, would you mind if I just made one more little call? I swear, it'll only take a minute."

"Pikaaaaaa…" Pikachu hesitantly gave permission to Ash

"Thanks, Pikachu!" Ash said as he dropped more coins into the payphone.

_I wonder if Misty's changed at all since we last met. It's been almost 6 years._

"Hey, mom!"

"Well if it isn't my little Ashy! How's everything going sweetie?"

"Everything's fine mom, but that's not why I called! Misty's coming to travel with me again!"

"She is? Well that's great new, Ash. Speaking of Misty I saw her just a few days ago!"

"You did?"

"Yes, she's definitely become quite the young woman. She's really filled out as well."

"Filled out? Whaddaya mean? Did she get fat or something?" Ash asked, his fifteen year old brain still not quite yet ready to understand matters of the opposite sex.

"Um no honey, that's not exactly what I meant, she's definitely not fat, uhhh…maybe I shouldn't say anymore."

"Ok, I have to go now, me 'n Pikachu are getting tired" He said, feigning a yawn.

"Alright, dear. I hope I see you soon! Make sure you change your underwear everyday!"

"Yea mom, I will. Bye."

"So you're leaving, but your like, our best battler!" Daisy yelped.

"Hey, don't worry about that Daisy. I've been watching you and you've really blossomed into a fine trainer, you're almost as good as me!"

"You really think that? You really think I could like, battle all of these challengers and stuff?"

"I know you can. But remember, you won't win 'em all. I didn't, no one can. There's no perfect Pokémon team, so victory is never assured." Misty reminded her.

"Yea, I'll remember that. Thanks Misty. But where are you going anyways?"

"I'm going to travel with Ash again, like we did way long ago." Misty reminisced about all the fights she and him had together, but how many good times they had besides that.

"Wow, didn't you have like, a major crush on him?" Daisy noted.

"That was NOT a crush! I just thought he was kinda cute is all and I liked him a little." Misty retorted.

"Sounds like a crush to me, sis."

"FINE I LIKED HIM BUT I'M OVER IT! HAPPY!"

"Geez, Misty. No need to get all like, angry about it. I was just saying in case you forgot, so you wouldn't be all surprised when you saw him."

"Well I appreciate the thought but I can assure you that's NOT going to happen!" She yelled, folding her arms.

"Whatever you say, little sis."

"By the way, be sure to tell Violet and Lilly that I'm going."

"Yea, sure. So, like, when are you going?"

"Well, I'm staying here for tonight but I'm leaving pretty early tomorrow morning, around 7:30, so you might wanna tell Violet and Lilly beforehand."

"I will, g'night sis."

"'Night, Daisy."

As Misty fell asleep, she remembered all of the good times and bad times she had with Ash. He had a heart of gold, but you wouldn't really know it by talking to him, or being next to him, or watching him battle, or being friends with him, or traveling with him. To her, Ash was a boy who didn't know what he was capable of offering, but would give it only to someone patient enough to unlock the treasures deep inside his heart.

It had been over 5 years since she saw him. He was probably almost 16 by now. As she felt sleep's tender, strong embrace, she wondered how much he had changed over the last half decade. He'd probably be taller, more handsome; maybe he'd be slightly more muscular. Maybe, just maybe, he would have matured a little.

But she wasn't counting on it.

What she may have missed just as much as Ash was her little baby Pokémon, Togepi. Togepi was the sweetest and cutest Pokémon who'd ever walked the face of the earth. It was always there for her, never judged her, and it could put a smile on anyone's face. It was almost always happy and could always cheer her up. She was heart broken when it evolved into Togetic and went off to protect the other Togepi.

Both Ash and Togepi had one thing in common among the obvious differences. They both made her feel happy and warm inside. The little egg Pokémon would be happy even when falling off of a steep cliff and Ash would always be there to make something unexpected out of an ordinary day. They both held a special place in her heart.

In a few days, she would see him again. She might be able to repair part of the great big hole made in her heart when they both grew absent from her life.

"Can't sleep either, Pikachu?" Ash called to his furry yellow friend.

"Pikachu…"

"Yea, I'm excited about Misty too, buddy. I wonder what mom meant when she said she 'filled out'." Ash pondered.

Ash, despite five years passing by since he first met his long-time friend, still had a lot to learn and had a long way to grow in regards to maturity. He didn't understand relationships with the opposite sex, and he was reduced to basically becoming a big container of walking hormones. He could not yet understand why he became suddenly…..activated, when he saw attractive girls. He found that the girls that did this were often the ones Brock fell for, and he was beginning to understand why. His eyes would often wander towards their chests and their…nether areas. He hoped the case with Misty would be different.

"No, I doubt Misty's changed a whole lot. What do you think?" Ash nodded to his old friend.

It was no use. His Pokémon was already asleep, at the mercy of whatever dreams were presented to him by his slumber.

Ash followed suit, resting his head on his pillow at staring at the ceiling of his tent.

_I can't wait to see her._


	2. Chapter 2: Arrival and the Egg

"I'm surprised to see you up this early, Daisy." Misty said as she packed up her backpack.

"Well I just woke up to like, say goodbye and all that." Daisy replied.

"I appreciate that, I hope Ash calls my cell phone so I can tell him that I'll be where he is in a few days."

"Well, if he really wants you there he probably will."

"Yeah probably, tell Violet and Lilly bye for me."

"Ok, bye little sis." She said as she rushed up to Misty and gave her one last hug.

"Bye, Daisy." Misty said, returning the hug.

Misty was walking down the sidewalk to the ferry port when she felt her phone vibrate.

_It must be Ash_.

She quickly pulled her phone out of her pocket and answered it.

"Hello? Is this Ash?"

"Yeah, how'd you know it was me Misty?" Ash inquired.

"I was hoping you'd call so I could tell you that I'm heading to the ferry port right now."

"Really? That's great news! How'd it go when you broke the news to your sisters?"

"Well, I only told Daisy because she's the one I trust the most. She said she'd tell my two other sisters, Violet and Lilly, but all I can do now is hope for the best with those two."

"I hope so too. So when do you think you'll be over here in Sinnoh." Ash asked.

"It's hard to say, but it really depends on the weather. I'm guessing that I should be able to get there in two days if the weather is forgiving. If things don't go so good it'll probably take up to twice that long, maybe more."

_Four days, I don't think I could wait that long. _Ash thought.

"But, the weather looks to be pretty good over here; it's nice and sunny with not a cloud in sight." Misty added.

"Good to know, it looks to be the same over here in Sinnoh."

"That's a good start but that's only a fraction of the trip, but whether we know or not, it's not going to change the weather." Misty reasoned.

"Yeah, that's true. Can you tell me which ferry port you'll be arriving at? I wanna be there when you get here."

"I'm not sure of its name but I think that it's the one that you arrived at when you started in Sinnoh."

"Good, that's not too far from here. I should be able to get there by the time you get here."

"Ok, I'm almost at the port and I have to buy my tickets, talk to you later!"

"Ok, Bye." He said, hanging up the payphone.

He walked back to his tent, giddy with excitement. He was going to see his long lost friend in two to four days. But first thing was first, he had to get Pikachu up and get to that ferry port.

Ash crawled into his tent to see Pikachu already awake. The small Pokémon was digging through Ash's bag, looking to find his Pokémon food container. Pikachu sat down with his legs in front, and ate to his heart's content.

"We don't have time, buddy. We have to get going to the ferry port. Misty will be here in a couple of days!" Ash said, already beginning to roll up his sleeping bag.

"Pika PIKA!" Pikachu angrily retorted, pulling the container of food away from Ash.

"Look, I'm sorry we're leaving on such short notice and I know you're hungry. I'll feed you on the way there but we have to leave as soon as possible." Ash pleaded, seeing that Pikachu still needed some convincing.

"Okay, you want to see Misty too right?" Ash asked.

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded adamantly.

"Well then we have to leave as soon as we can or else we might not get to the port on time, and you wouldn't want that would you?"

"Pika Pi…" Pikachu shook his head, almost immediately handing the food container back to his trainer and friend.

"Thanks, Pikachu. Now let's get going."

On their way, Ash happily held the container of Pokémon food. Brock had given him the recipe for electric type Pokemon food before he headed home. He had to give credit where credit was due; Brock was really good at finding what made Pokémon tick. Pikachu was practically addicted to the recipe Brock had conjured up. Whenever Ash wasn't looking, ninety percent of the time, Pikachu would be searching through his bag, trying desperately to grab even one piece of his food. Ash often used to this advantage, usually by bribing his cute furry Pokémon with a few pieces. Pikachu didn't mind, for obvious reasons. Ash continued to feed the yellow mouse on his perched upon his shoulder. But then, he noticed something on the side of the road.

"Hey, Pikachu, do you see that? Over on the side of the road…" Ash pointed out.

"Kachu!" Pikachu yelled, jumping off of Ash's shoulder and running towards the object.

"Hey, wait for me, Pikachu!" Ash called out.

Ash kneeled down next to the mysterious object.

"It looks like an egg, but it's somehow…familiar." Ash noted, trying to remember the colorful patterns on the shell of the egg.

"I remember! It's a Togepi egg!" Ash shouted.

"Pikachu Pika Pi" Pikachu agreed.

"So, do you think we should take it? I mean it looks as if someone just left it here. How sad…."

"Pika." Pikachu said, nodding his head.

"If this is anyone's egg you better come out and say so! Otherwise we're taking it!" Ash yelled as loud as he could, remembering past incidences trying to catch Pokémon he thought were wild, only to soon bear the brunt of their trainers' aggression.

Ash waited a few seconds before he decided to do anything. After about 20 seconds, no response. It was a difficult decision to make: either steal a trainer or breeder's Pokémon, or leave an already abandoned baby to its possible demise.

"Come to think of it, this would probably be a great thing to give Misty when she gets here! I know she really missed Togetic when he left, so imagine how much she'd love to have another Togepi." He said, holding the egg up high.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu agreed once again.

Ash pulled his jacket out of his backpack. It wasn't cold out, but it would help in keeping the Togepi egg warm.

Misty grew increasingly anxious during the ferry ride. She was worried that Ash may have taken a change for the worst. During her time away from him, her body had definitely developed quite a bit. When she left Brock, Ash, and May, her breasts were barely budding and the curves in her hips and waist just beginning to form. Now, she actually had the body of a woman. Back when they traveled together in Kanto and Johto, Ash hadn't even started puberty. Now, he was probably almost done with it.

Great, a hormonal and probably perverted teenage boy. This was not looking good…

_Maybe I just need to think more positively. I mean, Ash isn't really like a lot of other guys, which is why I liked him so much…_

Misty instantly flinched at that thought. She told herself that her attraction to him was over, and that they were just friends. Very close, good friends, but friends nonetheless.

Over the years, Misty had become somewhat lonely. She had had a couple of boyfriends, whom she genuinely liked, at least for a while. The first one turned out to be just a flirt and a pervert, touching her whenever possible. The second was the same and cheated on her to boot. After that, she just gave up on relationships, deciding that they always ended up in heartbreak and disappointment, and that the chances of them working out and lasting were so small that they weren't even worth the time put in. The only one who was ever really there for her these past few years was Daisy. She knew Daisy cared, despite how superficial she could be at times. Daisy could be horribly annoying, but she understood Misty to a limited extent. Even then, Daisy wasn't enough. Daisy only called to her on a superficial level. At times they could get into each other, but these occasions were somewhat rare and hardly qualified as strong bonding.

Ash, despite there differences, was the only person who really seemed to know her. They didn't really talk one on one a whole lot, but there was definitely a connection, though if she or anyone brought it up to Ash, he would probably have no earthly idea what she or they were talking about.

_I can't dwell on the past. _Misty thought. _I should just focus on the road ahead, with Ash and Pikachu. _

Misty couldn't take it anymore; she needed at least some company.

"Excuse me, sir." She asked one of the security personnel aboard the ferry.

"Yes miss?" The guard asked cordially.

"Would it be okay if I brought out one of my Pokemon?"

"That's fine, but only one. This ferry's a little packed today so we're pretty tight on space. Also, make sure it behaves itself." The guard said.

"Ok, thanks."

"Come on out, Poli-." Misty was about to call out Politoed, her Psyduck burst out of its ball.

"Psyduck! Why do you always do that!" She shouted, receiving many curious and some annoyed looks from those around her.

"Uhh, sorry. My Psyduck just causes trouble sometimes, it won't be a problem." She said, putting her Poke ball back.

"Ok, Psyduck. You can stay out. Just stay in the seat next to me and keep quiet." She commanded.

"Psy?" The duck Pokemon said, plopping down in the seat next to her.

The rest of the journey was filled with Psyduck's irritating, but sometimes amusing, antics. Psyduck was a handful and a huge burden sometimes, but she loved him. Now if only he was easier to control.

Off in the distance, she saw a group of Lapras swimming across the sea, with a few Golduck behind them. If anything could lift Misty's spirit, it was a group of rare water Pokémon. Water Pokémon were graceful, strong, versatile, and not to mention cute. There exceptions to the cute part, like Gyarados. But, her Gyarados was special in its own right. Part of the reason she liked Ash so much is because of his similarity to water type Pokémon, minus the graceful part of course.

"Well, we're here Pikachu." Ash said tiredly. They had been walking over 13 hours, and over the course of the past two days, Ash's stamina was put to the test. Walking many miles while taking care of Pikachu, the egg, and his own belongings and other Pokémon was no easy task.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu yelled excitedly, pointing to something on the horizon.

"Hey! I think that's the boat Misty's on!" Ash said, running towards the ferry dock.

"Pikachu, I need you to hide this egg in my backpack. I want it to be a surprise for Misty."

Pikachu took the egg and crammed it into the bag, but took care not to be to rough, lest he hurt the innocent creature inside.

Ash could hardly wait. The boat finally docked, and the passengers began to get off of the ferry. Ash eagerly stood next to the line of passengers, but Misty was nowhere to be found. Everyone had got off of the boat, and not a single one of them had even slightly red hair. Ash's heart sank, and he began to walk away from the docks. He sat on a nearby bench.

"I guess she must've missed her boat, Pikachu." Ash said solemnly.

"Pika…" Pikachu said, his ears dropping.

"ASH!"

"Huh? MISTY!" He said, running over to her.

"Sorry, Ash, but it took a while to get Psyduck off of the ferry." She explained.

"Yeah, no problem…" Ash said. His eyes traveled up and down her body. She no longer donned her trademark yellow shirt and shorts, but something else about her was different.

_So that's what my mom meant when she said "filled out". _Ash thought.

Misty was at a loss for words as well. Ash had grown a lot and was almost six feet tall, much taller than most people his age, and even those older than him. His face was mostly the same as when he was a kid, but his hair slightly shorter. He still wore his trademark hat, but was wearing a jacket as well, despite the warm weather.

Before they said anything further, they simply rushed up to each other and hugged.

"I missed you, Ash." Misty said softly.

"I missed you to, Misty." He replied.

"Hey, Pikachu, how are you?" She asked. Pikachu almost immediately jump onto her shoulder and rubbed his face against her hair.

"It's good to see you again too, Pikachu." She said, not noticing Ash still gawking at her. He snapped out of it after a few seconds and caught sight of Psyduck.

"Hey Psyduck, how you doin'? Still the same as always?" Ash asked, kneeling down before the duck Pokémon.

For once Psyduck actually responded. He quickly jumped onto Ash, giving him a quick but tight hug.

"Wow, Misty. Psyduck actually did something that made sense for once."

"Yeah, Psyduck has been getting a little better lately, not by much though, but it's a start. Also, why are you wearing a jacket Ash, isn't it a little warm out?" The blue-eyed gym leader asked.

"Oh, that reminds me. I have a special surprise for you." He said, reaching into his bag.

"Aww, Ash. You didn't have to get me anything." Misty said, flattered.

"It's nothing, really. I actually didn't plan on getting you anything but I thought you might like this….TA-DA!" He held the egg out in front of him.

Silence.

"What's the matter, Misty? Don't you want it?" Ash asked.

"Listen Ash, I really appreciate the gesture but I….I just don't want it." She reluctantly admitted.

"What? Why not? I thought you liked Togepi…"

"I do, it's just….it's nothing. I …just don't think I'm ready to handle another Pokémon. I already have six, and it's not easy, Ash." Misty explained.

"I understand, Misty, raising Pokémon is definitely no easy task. I guess I'll just have to give it away." He said.

"Umm, Ash. You should definitely give it away before it hatches. Remember, it thinks the first thing it sees is its mother." She reminded Ash.

"Oh yeah, I'll keep that in mind." He said, putting the egg back into his bag.

"Good idea." Misty said, unwilling to admit the real reason why she didn't want the Togepi egg.

"So, where do you wanna go, Misty?" Ash asked, Pikachu jumping back onto his shoulder.

"Well, I looked at a map on the ferry and I thought we could go to the Resort Area. I could really use a break after all the gym battles I've been going through lately, some of them were really tough." She suggested.

"Wow, that's clear on the other side of the region. That's gonna take a while, Misty." He informed her.

"I know, that's part of the reason why I want to go there, Ash. It'll give us time to catch up on a few things. Plus, there's probably someone we could give that egg to as well." She said, making sure to get that egg out of the way.

"Yeah, I think that'd be nice. So…let's get going. There has to be something to eat somewhere around here." He said, already starting to walk inland.

_Some things never change. _Misty thought, knowing that if there was one quality about Ash that would never sway, it was his monstrously voracious appetite.

"I told you you shouldn't have eaten so much, Ash! Now you're sick!" Misty scolded.

"Don't worry Misty….this happens a lot, it'll just subside…..I hope." He said in between grunts of pain and hiccups.

"I hope so too. You look like you're about to collapse. Maybe we should stop and rest. You look like you could use a drink." She urged.

"Fine, I'm getting kind of tired anyways. It's getting late too." He noted.

As they set up their camp next to the river, Ash couldn't help but steal glances of Misty when she wasn't looking. Especially when she bent down to unroll her sleeping bag, her rear end sticking out in plain sight. The young trainer did his best to look away, but his hormones put up a fight he could not counter.

"So Misty, what's been going on with you?" Ash asked, breaking the ice and checking up on his old friend.

"Well, not much, just taking on challengers at the gym and what not." She replied.

"Hey Misty, I've been meaning to ask you, from the point of view of a gym leader, how do you see the trainers that challenge you?" Ash asked.

"Well, I couldn't really tell you. I don't think I should form an opinion based on someone I just met."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense." He said, yawn.

"And I guess I'm the only one who's tired. G'nite Ash." She retired, turning over in her sleeping bag and fluffing her pillow.

"Oh, Ash, I forgot one thing. Do you know of any place where we could get rid of that egg?" She asked.

"I heard there was a swap meet not too far from here in a day or two. We could stop by there and trade it for something." Ash answered.

"That should do it." She agreed, and they both fell asleep.

During the night, Misty's slumber was interrupted when she heard shuffling and cracking coming from Ash's bag. All of the sudden, a small, spiked ball jumped out of front of her.

"Togepriiiii!" It trilled loudly, jumping onto Misty and rubbing its face against hers.

_Not again._

"Ash, wake up. Look!" She said.

Ash groggily sat up and looked at Misty, who was being attacked by a Togepi.

"Well, I guess you're the mom now Misty. Sorry." Ash revealed.

"But, I don't want to raise this thing!" She said, shoving it off of her.

"Misty? What's wrong?" He said, the life instantly getting put back into is body.

Misty began to crawl out of the tent and the Togepi followed suit.

"Toge Togepriii!"

"No Togepi, stay here." She said, trying to come off as amiable so as not to hurt it too much.

But her efforts were to no avail. The Togepi innocently followed her out of the tent.

"Togepi, I said stay here!" She said loudly, shoving the baby lightly with her foot.

"Toge?" It chirruped innocently, still following her, curious as to what she was upset about.

"I said GET AWAY!" The former gym leader yelled, lightly kicking the Togepi across the tent.

The baby Togepi instantly broke out into tears, questioning as to why its own mother would treat it so cruelly. Misty couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt as the poor Togepi sobbed in the corner of the tent, clearly in pain. Misty ran out of the tent, coming close to tears herself.

"Misty wait! Pikachu, stay here and protect Togepi!" Ash said, standing up as he began to run after her.

Ash later found Misty sitting on a rock about a hundred feet from the tent with her head in her hands.

"Misty, why were you so mean to that poor Togepi?" He asked, sitting down next to her on the same boulder. She didn't respond, just buried her face deeper into her hands.

"Misty, are you ok? What's wrong?" Ash asked. Misty finally broke her silence.

"I can't do it again, Ash. I just can't." She said on the verge of tears.

"Can't do what? Raise another Togepi?" He deduced.

"Yes. I was so sad when my Togetic left me. It was so sweet and cute. Then I left you and Brock. I don't want to handle that kind of loss again, Ash." She explained, letting her tears loose.

"So let me get this straight. You don't want to raise the Togepi because you're afraid that it'll go and leave you like your first one did?" Ash asked.

"That's right. I don't want to get attached to it. But it looks like its too late for that. It already thinks I'm its mom."

"Misty, you don't have to worry about that. Togetic only left to protect the other Togepi, and I'm not leaving any time soon. I can't promise that the Togepi will stay when it grows older, but I can promise that I will." Ash comforted her.

"Th-Thank you Ash…..O-ok, I'll raise the Togepi." She complied.

"I'm glad to hear that Misty, and remember, I'm here for you if you need any help with it." Ash affirmed.

"I appreciate that, Ash. But how am I going to confront it now. It probably hates me." Misty said.

"It shouldn't too hard. Just tell it that you'll raise it and explain why you didn't want to at first. Togepi are very kind and forgiving Pokemon."

"That's true, ok let's go back." She said, wiping the last of the tears from her eyes.

As Ash and Misty entered the tent, they saw Pikachu trying to comfort the newborn Togepi, who was still crying a little.

"I'll take it from here, Pikachu. This is my fault." Misty told him.

Togepi looked up at Misty and instantly retreated, frightened by its first experienced with her. It then proceeded to cower in the corner. Misty gently picked up the baby by its shell.

"Shhh, I'm not gonna hurt you, Togepi." She said softly, sitting down and crossing her legs, setting it down in front of her.

"Toge?" The small egg asked, still unsure of the large redhead's motives and of her sudden change of heart.

"Togepi, I know I was really mean to you earlier, and I'm really sorry. The truth is, I just didn't want you, but now I do. It's a long story…" She said, going for the short, simple explanation.

"Will you forgive me and be my Pokemon?" She whispered so as not to wake up Ash, who fell on his sleeping bag and was now out cold.

"Toge? Togepriiiiiiiiiii!" It trilled loudly, climbing up onto Misty's lap and trying its hardest to hug her, despite its incredibly stubby hands. Misty lifted Togepi up and gave it a tight but not too tight hug, so as not to hurt its fragile body. Togepi soon became tired, and so Misty put it to sleep next to Pikachu.

Misty was awakened the second time that night, this time by Ash.

"Hey, Misty. I think something's wrong with Togepi." Ash warned.

"What? What's going on?" Misty asked, still trying to pry her eyes open. She looked only to see Pikachu in the corner, comforting the poor egg Pokemon as it poured its little heart out.

"Oh no, Togepi!" She said, springing up and rushing towards it.

"Pikachu, do you know what happened to Togepi?" She asked. Pikachu then asked Togepi what had happened.

Pikachu then did its best to re-enact what happened to the unfortunate baby Pokemon. First, he pretended to be asleep. Then, he instantly sprang up and did his best to pretend and be a vicious monster, which was hardly convincing due to his size and cute complexion.

"Misty….I think Pikachu's trying to say that Togepi had some sort of nightmare. Is that it Pikachu?"

"Pikachu Pi!" Pikachu nodded, confirming Ash's guess.

"A nightmare! Oh you poor thing." She said, instantly scooping the frightened Togepi into her arms.

"You're sleeping with me tonight okay, Togepi?" Misty said, cradling the young pokemon in her arms.

The former gym leader crept into her sleeping bag with her new Togepi, who was still a little shaken by its nightmare.

"Don't worry Togepi, it was just a dream. Dreams aren't real. There are scary, bad things in this world, but I won't let them get you." She comforted it as she snuggled it closer to her.

"Toge toge!" it happily chirruped, jumping out of her arms and running out of the tent.

"Wait! Togepi, where are you going?" She yelled.

She ran outside, only to see Togepi pulling on a flower nearby, eventually mustering enough strength to pull it out of the ground. Togepi, now holding the flower that was bigger than it was, gleefully ran up to Misty and gave her a beautiful blue flower.

"Aww, you're a sweetie aren't you?" Misty said, leaving herself to wonder how she could have treated such a kind, small Pokémon so cruelly. Unfortunately, Togepi had gotten dirty from when it uprooted the flower.

"Toge Togepriiii!" It shrilled, trying its hardest to wipe the dirt off of its front spike, but it couldn't reach.

"Uh-oh, let me get that for you, Togepi." Misty said, grabbing a cloth out of her pocket and gently wiping off the patch of dirt.

"There, all better." She finished sweetly.

"Togepriii" It said, leaping into Misty's arms.

"It looks like that Togepi really likes you, Misty." She heard a familiar voice coming from the tent.

"Huh? Oh hey, Ash. I see you're awake." She noted

"I couldn't help waking up after you yelled and left." He replied.

"Yeah, me and Togepi are best friends now, right Togepi?"

"Togepriii!" It trilled loudly, lying against Misty's chest.

_That must feel really nice_. Ash thought. He immediately mentally smacked himself for that comment. What was getting into him?

"Are you tired now, Misty? I'm going to bed…" Ash said, crawling back into the tent.

"C'mon, let's go Togepi." Misty said.

As Misty crawled in after him, she found that Ash was already lying down, petting Pikachu as it slept soundly.

"Goodnight, Misty…again."

"Goodnight, Ash." She muttered, rolling over in her sleeping bag.

Suddenly she felt a small poke at her back.

"Toge?" She heard from behind her.

"Oh, sorry, I almost forgot about you, Togepi." She apologized.

"Togepriiiiii!" It shrieked as she pulled it closer to her. Misty softly rubbed its front spike to help it sleep, as it might have been scared still. That had always helped her other Togepi go to bed. She saw that the kicked she landed was forming a bruise on Togepi's soft cheek.

"I'm so sorry for kicking you earlier, Togepi." She said, kissing the bruise very softly.

"Toge…" It whispered as it hugged its body to Misty's chest and fell asleep. She still watched over it a few minutes after it fell asleep, just to see if it was alright. How horrible that a baby should suffer a nightmare its first night alive. Misty vowed to protect it from whatever harm possible. She was looking forward to raising it and being side by side with it. Maybe someday she would evolve it into a Togekiss, and finally have a battle capable Pokémon that was not a water type. She watched as its miniscule hands rose and fell with each breath it took. The water trainer could watch all night, but she needed to get some sleep for herself.

Misty woke up the next morning to the sight of Ash still sleeping, and Togepi playing with Pikachu. Pikachu was happily letting Togepi play with its tail, bouncing up and down on it. Misty couldn't help but smile to herself when she saw it so happy and cute. She went over to Togepi, but let it continued to let it play.

"Did you two sleep well last night?" She asked sweetly as she squatted down next to them. Pikachu nodded and Togepi trilled loudly and ran up to Misty, jumping into her arms and laughing.

"Well, you're just a little ball of happiness aren't you?" She cooed as Togepi smiled.

"Hey, Pikachu, go wake Ash up." She urged mischievously. Pikachu slowly snuck up on Ash, stuck its tail to his leg, and unleashed a weak jolt of electricity.

"GAHHHH!" Ash threw himself out of his sleeping bag.

"What was that for, Pikachu?" Ash asked, irritated.

"Pika chu Pi!" Pikachu responded, pointing accusingly at Misty, who was giggling.

"You should've seen the look on your face, Ash." She said, breaking into full out laughter.

"Yea, I'm sure it was real funny. I'm hungry, lets go eat." He muttered.

_Leave it to Ash to think about food the minute he wakes up._

"Any ideas for breakfast?" Misty asked.

"Brock taught me how to cook a little before he left, so I might be able to cook something up." Ash said.

"What did you have in mind?" She asked as Togepi jumped out of her arms and continued to play with Pikachu's tail.

"I….don't have anything to cook." He admitted.

"Well, where can we get something for you to cook with?" Misty asked.

"There's a town a few miles from here. There's probably a market or something there." Ash answered, still putting his jacket and hat on.

"Well, let's get going. Togepi and I are getting hungry too, aren't we Togepi?" She asked, glancing over to see Togepi still happily bouncing on Pikachu's tail.

"Toge toge!" It trilled, happily getting off of Pikachu and running over to hug Misty.

"Right, help me get the tent down." He asked.

"Ok, Togepi, I'll need to you play with Pikachu a little more until we're ready to go, ok?"

"Togepriii." It spoke, running back over to Pikachu, who kindly extended his tail so Togepi could play with it more.

"I have Pikachu's food covered but I don't know what to do about Togepi." Ash explained.

"I'm sure what we find will do. And if we don't find something, Togepi probably will." Misty said, recalling her old Togepi's knack for finding and doing things in a pinch. She went around the tent, only to find Togepi chewing on a bunch of berries.

"Togepi, no! Those could be poisonous!" Misty rushed over towards it, pulling the berries away and picking up Togepi.

"Toge toge toge…" It pleaded, reaching for the berries that Misty took from it.

"Hey, Misty? What's going on?" Ash said following after her.

"Oh its nothing, just found Togepi trying to eat some berries."

"So why aren't you letting it?" Ash asked.

"Because, Ash! They could be poisonous and Togepi can't handle anything, its only a day old!" She shouted. Ash took a careful look at the berries.

"Haha, Misty. These aren't poisonous berries, these are actually Lum berries and they're actually really tasty and good for Pokemon. No wonder Togepi likes them so much." Ash said.

"Oh, really? Ok, sorry Togepi. Here you go, eat up!" She said, cradling the young Pokemon and giving it the berries. She watched as it happily nibbled away on the cluster of berries.

"Well, I guess that takes care of Togepi's breakfast and Pikachu has the food from Brock, so that just leaves you and me." Ash noted.

"Well, let's get going." Misty responded.

A/N: Expect updates every 2 weeks approximately. Probably on weekends. It only takes about 1 week to write a standard 5,000 word chapter, but I proofread everything and hold myself to a standard. So it takes 2 weeks, although I might indulge and write faster, summer is coming soon and will give me more time to write, so…we'll see. Enjoy!


	3. Chapter 3: Noises and The Cave

"Wow, Ash, that was actually pretty good." Misty said after chewing down the last bit of noodles that Ash had made. In truth, she was quite surprised that he actually learned anything that Brock could have taught him. She mentally scolded herself to never underestimate Ash Ketchum.

"Thanks, Misty. Did you like it too, Togepi?" Ash asked.

"Togepriiiiiiii" It trilled, slurping up one last noodle. Ash couldn't help but smile and laugh a little as he saw Togepi hold on to its belly as if it was full. It had only eaten 5 noodles and was already stuffed.

"Thanks guys, cooking for you two is a lot easier than cooking for Snorlax." Ash mused.

"You cooked for Snorlax?" She laughed at the idea of any one or two people trying to cook for such a beastly creature.

"Well, Brock and I were…uhhh…experimenting. We thought it might be fun to just try it. We cooked up a huge meal and it took us almost an entire day." Ash explained.

"So what happened? Was it enough?" Misty couldn't wait to hear.

"That's the fun part. I'll never know. By the time we were done, Snorlax had ridden dozens of trees of their berries and fruits and was out cold." He continued.

Misty burst out into full blown laughter. "So, what did you do with all the food then?" She asked.

"We didn't know what else to do with it. There was no way we could save all of it long enough for Snorlax to eat it later and we certainly couldn't eat all of that food. So we just went around and gave it to as many Pokemon as we could find. Fortunately, we found another Snorlax." Ash ended.

"Another Snorlax? Wow, that is lucky. I'm assuming that this Snorlax was grateful for such generosity." Misty assumed.

"You bet, he ate it like there was no tomorrow. He let out a huge burp after words, which Brock said was his way of saying 'Thank You'." Ash replied.

"Funny. Getting lucky with Pokemon like that reminds me of something that happened at the gym about a year ago." Misty began.

"What happened?"

"Well, there was one day I was at the gym and there was no one there. All my sisters had gone out with boys or something and I was pretty bored. Then, this guy comes in challenging me to a match…" She was interrupted by Togepi jumping out of her arms to go play with Pikachu.

"So, did you battle him?" Ash asked.

"I was pretty bored that day, and I didn't have much of a choice anyways, so I accepted. Turns out he was REALLY conceited. Like, even more than you Ash." She smirked.

"Haha, very funny." Ash replied sarcastically.

"Anyways, we battled, and through the whole match he did nothing but trash talk. I don't even see why he was so proud. He had the type advantages and everything."

"So did you win?"

"No." She said blankly.

"So, where's the lucky part."

"Well, as he was still trash talking and as he was walking towards the exit, Psyduck comes out of his Pokeball. But this time, his timing was perfect. The trainer accidentally tripped over Psyduck and landed right in the pool." This caused Ash to burst into laughter. Misty did too at such a humorous memory. She soon collected herself.

"But wait, wait, that's not the best part. During the match, that trainer had a few nasty things to say about my Gyarados. And we all know what happens when you provoke a Gyarados." Misty said.

"So, what happened?" Ash asked again.

"Well, Gyarados was looking to get back at that trainer. So he went under the water where that trainer had fallen in and gave him a huge hydro-pump, launching him right towards the ceiling and right back into the pool." She mused triumphantly.

"Wow, that's quite a story. I can't say he didn't deserve it though. Anyone who teases a Gyarados doesn't deserves to walk out unscathed." Ash pointed out.

"That's true. After words, he simply got out of the pool, still dazed from the hydro-pump. He stumbled towards the door and tripped on his way out." Misty giggled.

"Wow, that's great." Ash said.

"Yeah, I don't think I'll ever forget that battle. Sometimes losing is definitely worth it." She concluded.

"I guess so, maybe you" Ash paused, looking over Misty's shoulder.

"What is it, Ash?" Misty asked.

"Behind you, there's something in the bushes." Ash warned.

Out of the thick shrubbery came a Bibarel, with some wood it had just picked up.

"Is that some sort of water Pokemon?" She questioned.

"Yeah, I guess I got a little worried there. Actually, this is great. This means there must be a lake or something near here. You wanna go swimming, Misty?" Ash asked.

"I'd love to! It's pretty hot out today." Misty noted.

Ash walked up to the Bibarel and kneeled down before it.

"Hey, Bibarel. Do you think you could show us where the river is? Me and my friend are kind of hot and we could use some water." Ash explained.

The Bibarel silently nodded and smiled as it walked away slowly. Misty picked up Togepi and Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder. After walking for about ten minutes, they finally made there way to a nearby lake.

"Wow, its so big." Misty said, admiring the pristine, blue shine the lake's water gave off.

"Yeah, it is. I think I've been here before. It doesn't matter." Ash said.

"Well, let's get to it. I'm gonna go change, see you in a bit." She said.

"Alright, I gotta change too." He responded. He watched as Misty went back into a field of trees and bushes, so as to get changed in privacy.

_Stay cool, Ash. She's just same old Misty...although I wonder what she looks like in her bathing suit._ Ash quite right there, stopping his hormonal 15 year old mind from venturing any further.

Suddenly, Ash heard a strange noise coming from all around him. He couldn't pinpoint where it was. It fluctuated between low and high pitched. Then, he felt as if his eardrums had burst. He keeled over in pain, covering his ears to stop the noise from permeating his senses, but it was no use. The sound seemed to penetrate everything.

"Ash, are you ok?" Misty asked, helping him off the ground. Finally, the horrid noise subsided.

"Yeah. I just heard something but I'm…fine." He trailed off, taking in the sight of Misty in a bikini. It was rather overwhelming seeing how much she had…developed over the last few years. Her breasts could actually be considered large, and she had curves in her hips now. She definitely didn't look like a little girl anymore.

"Ash, are you ok?" She asked innocently, unaware of the effect she was having on the young trainer in front of her. Truly, if it were any other boy she wouldn't feel comfortable in a bikini. Ash, however, was different. She could tell he still retained much of his childhood innocence and naïveté from when they traveled together. She trusted him and thought he wouldn't be perverted, much like her two boyfriends.

"Yeah, I'm fine, let's…swim." He said, still dazed from the shock of the noise and of seeing Misty in her two piece.

"Alright then. So do you think our Pokémon would like to swim too?" Misty asked.

"I think they would. C'mon out guys!" He yelled, throwing out all of his Pokeballs. Misty did the same. Soon enough, there were twelve Pokemon all over the shore of the lake. Their Pokemon, old and new, became reacquainted with each other.

"Do you wanna swim too, Togepi?" Misty asked the Pokemon in between her chest and arms.

"Toge?" Togepi looked frighteningly at the water.

"Don't worry, Togepi, its fun, isn't it Psyduck?" Misty did her best to convince the young Pokemon.

"Psy?"

"See, Psyduck likes to swim." She lied, knowing full well that Psyduck couldn't swim an inch.

"Here, I'll swim with you." Misty assured, lightly stepping into the cool water. At first, Togepi was caught off guard by the coldness of the water, but soon became acclimated to the lower temperature.

"See? It's not so bad Togepi." She said.

"Toge Togepriiiiiiiiii!" It chirruped, making little splashes in the water as it waded its hands up and down in Misty's arms.

Ash smiled as Misty taught Togepi how to swim and get used to water. It was in a much better state than it was the night before.

"Hey, Misty. I just noticed something weird about Togepi." Ash said.

"Really? What is it?" She asked as Ash waded closer to her.

"Well, from what I've heard, dreams are based on things you've seen. Anything that shows up in a dream is from something or someone you've seen at one point in your life or another. So how could Togepi have a nightmare if it was a newborn." Ash stated.

"Yeah, that's true. Pikachu, are you sure it was a nightmare that Togepi had last night?" Misty asked.

"Pika Pikachu!" Pikachu nodded.

"Well, if you say so…" Misty agreed.

"Toge…" The small Pokemon said in fear, vividly recalling the horrid memories from the night before.

"It's ok, Togepi. It was just a dream. Nothing's going to hurt you." She said, hugging the Togepi tightly in the cool water.

The rest of the swim continued as planned. Misty and Ash swam as they're Pokemon did the same. Ash couldn't help but steal a glance at Misty every now and then.

"It's getting late, Ash. I think we should head back now." Misty suggested.

"I guess you're right." Ash agreed. They called back their Pokemon and headed off back to where they made their camp.

"AGHH!" Ash screamed in pain, the horrid noise coming back to his ears. He fell to his knees as his hands clasped over his ears in a desperate but futile attempt to block out the sound. Then…it began.

"Ash! Ash, are you ok? Talk to me, Ash." Misty urged, wondering what was wrong with him. Ash soon returned to his feet, pretending as if nothing had happened at all.

"Ash, are you alright?" She asked.

"Wow, look at you, Misty! You've really grown up haven't you!" Ash said excitedly.

"Um, yeah, I guess." Misty responded.

"You guess? Look at you! You're definitely not like the flat-chested thin-as-a-rail girl I remember back when we were ten!" Ash exclaimed.

"WHAT!" She yelled, her face growing red. Not with embarrassment, but with anger.

"Yea, you got some NICE hips too, I'll bet you"

SMACK!

The last thing he felt before he stumbled backwards was the feeling of Misty's warm hand hitting his left cheek.

"HOW DARE YOU, ASH KETCHUM!" She yelled, walking away with Togepi. Ash quickly recovered from the hit.

"Hey, c'mon sexy, I can show you a REAL good time." He said.

SMACK!

Misty slapped Ash again, this time even harder. This time, she had no words, and simply walked off towards camp. Ash then snapped out of his trance, quickly running back towards Misty.

"Hey, Misty wait for me!" Ash yelled as he ran at her.

"Are you serious, Ash? After what you said to me I can't even FATHOM why I would wait for you!" She scolded.

"Wait, what are you talking about!" Ash asked innocently.

"Oh, don't give me that garbage, Ash! You know exactly what I'm talking about!" Misty screamed.

"Don't bother coming back to camp until you think about what you said!"

"What did I say, Pikachu?" He asked.

"Pika-Pika…" Pikachu said, rubbing the nape of his neck.

"I can't believe him! Of all the things people have said to me! My old boyfriends were no-good lousy perverts but they never went as low as to call me FLAT-CHESTED!" Misty mused. Togepi was dazed in her arms, startled by all of the yelling.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Togepi. You didn't deserve that…" She apologized as she rubbed the front spike on Togepi's head.

"Toge Togepriii!" It said, nestling into her arms, clearly enjoying the warmth she provided.

"Stupid Ash! He's said a lot of stupid things but this has to be the outright meanest and most perverted thing he's ever said to anyone! He should know by now not to provoke me!" That's when it hit her.

She knew Ash was extremely oblivious to matters of the opposite sex. He knew about two things: Pokemon battling, and food, with bits and pieces of knowledge about other various things. She would be surprised to know he even knew what the term "flat-chested" meant. Then again, he did seem very un-Ash-like. Ash would never say something like that…would he?

#########

"Did I really say THOSE kinda things, Pikachu?" Ash inquired.

"Pika Pikachu Pika!" Pikachu said, jumping on his shoulder.

"Wow, no wonder she hit me…" Ash said. Translating what Pikachu was saying was a lot like playing charades. Pikachu would act out what happened and Ash would guess. Of course, Ash almost never got it completely right, but he could get the gist of what his little electric friend was saying.

"Geez, I guess I'd better go apologize." Ash thought. He knew this had something to do with that noise.

As Ash walked towards camp, he thought of the best way to explain this to Misty.

"Oh look, here comes Ash. I wonder what he has to say about all of this." Misty said.

"Ummm…hey Misty. Do you mind if I sit down?" Ash asked uneasily.

"Go ahead…" She said flatly, trying her best to show as little emotion in her voice as possible.

"Well, um, about e-earlier, I don't know what happened." Ash stated simply.

"Wow Ash, how articulate of you." The young redhead said sarcastically.

"Urgh, that's not ALL that happened. You see there was this noise…" He continued.

"And?" She urged him to go further.

"And then….I don't know what happened." Ash concluded.

"Are you kidding me! After all that's happened you think I'll believe a lame excuse like that!" She said angrily. "Good night, ASH!" She shouted, turning over in her sleeping bag with Togepi in her arms.

"No, Misty! Really, that's what happened!" He shouted.

No response.

_**The Next Day**_

Misty and Ash had continued their travels through the Sinnoh regions, this time through a fairly dense forest. They were lucky enough to find a path to walk towards the Resort Area. Still, they had set up camp not too far, in case they needed to turn back.

_Two days and she's already mad at me._ Ash thought. _Why can't I be good with girls like Brock?_ Ash instantly stopped himself there.

As they walked past a nearby cave, Ash heard it again.

That noise.

It put Ash in a trance again. But this time, it was different. Instead of unleashing his inner pervert, something else happened.

"Hey…Misty." Ash said.

"What is it, Ash?" She asked, still irritated by the events prior to today.

"I think we should go into that cave." He said, seemingly unaffected by the gruffness of her voice.

"What, why would we go in there, I-wait Ash!" She yelled. He had already began walking towards the cave and was now inside it.

Before she knew it, both of them were in the cave. Ash snapped out of his trance and began walking back out. Unfortunately, the wall of the cave crashed in, blocking off the entrance.

"GOOD JOB ASH, LOOK WHAT YOU'VE DONE NOW!" Misty screamed, she had had about enough of him for the past day.

"What, why are we in this cave?" He asked nonchalantly.

"DON'T YOU DARE GIVE ME THAT GARBAGE AGAIN, ASH! JUST GET US OUT OF HERE NOW!" She yelled.

Her yelling caused the walls of the cave to rumble. All of the sudden, bright lights emanated from the ceiling, floor, and sides of the cave. There were bright blue crystals, etched into the sides of the cave.

"Wow….." Misty said, awestruck by the magnificence of the spectacle before her.

"I know…" Ash said similarly.

The noise came back. This time it afflicted both Ash, Misty, Pikachu and Togepi.

"Now you…see what I'm talking about!" Ash shouted between grunts of pain.

"Where's this noise coming from?" Misty screeched. And as quickly as it had begun, the noise simply vanished.

"Finally, are you alright Togepi!" Misty asked her baby Pokemon.

"Togepriii!" It trilled happily, feeling as good as it ever had before.

"What about you, Pikachu?"

"Pika-chu-Pi!" He nodded.

"So now you see what I'm talking about!" Ash exclaimed.

"Alright, I get the noise part. But that still doesn't give you an excuse to act like a pervert like you did yesterday!"

"I already told you, I don't know what that was, Misty!" He justified.

"Look, Ash! We don't have time to argue. We can fight about this later all we want, but we need to get out of here!" She said, trying to keep a level head amidst all the chaos. In truth, she couldn't remember how many times they had been stuck in a random obscure cave like this one.

"I guess you're right, Misty. Let's get going." He said, walking deeper into the cave with Misty following him.

_She sure does look nice with all these lights. Actually, she always looks nice. Good grief, what's happening to me? _Ash thought. He knew he'd always liked Misty, as in more than friends. He loved the way she laughed, the way she looked. She could be mean and nasty sometimes, but kind and caring at others. He wondered…should he tell her? All these years and not even a thought to telling her how he felt. He had focused solely on Pokemon battling for the past 5 years that he forgot the human aspect of his life.

_You and I will be married some day_. Ash vividly recalled when Misty said that, when Brock was actually on the receiving end of his usually flirtatious antics.

"Misty, stop…" Ash said softly.

"What now, Ash?" She asked.

"Misty…I…n-need to tell you s-something." He admitted.

"What is it Ash? Why are you stuttering?" Misty asked, approaching him.

"Well, I" Ash was cut off mid sentence by an explosion in the wall of the cave. The blast sent them backwards at least ten feet.

"Misty, are you alright?" Ash asked in between coughs.

"Yeah, I'm fine, so is Togepi." Misty replied.

"Prepare for trouble!" Came from the smoke and ashes.

"And make it double!"

"Quiet, you two, we still gotta catch dat Pikachu!" Meowth yelled, slamming both of their heads together.

_Are you kidding me_? Ash thought.

"These creeps still follow you around, Ash!" Misty yelled, utterly surprised that the dubious Team Rocket still followed her friend after over 5 years of failing to catch one Pikachu.

"Go, Politoed!" Misty yelled, soon a small, frog-like creature was bouncing up and down the cave.

"Pikachu, go get 'em!" Ash yelled as Pikachu ran forward along side Politoed.

"Well if that's the way you want it, go, Tyranitar!" Jesse yelled.

_Where did THEY get a Tyranitar! _Ash thought.

"Politoed, use Hydro-Pump!" Misty ordered, seemingly unfazed by the tall, beastly Pokemon standing near them.

"Uhh-Pikachu, use Thunder!" Ash said, still wondering if such an attack would work on such a powerful creature.

Tyranitar took both of the attacks with each, not even budging an inch.

"Nice work, Tyranitar. Now, Hyper-Beam!" Jesse shouted.

"Jesse, do you have any idea what you're doing. The walls of the cave will collapse if we use that here!" James noted.

"Quiet, James! This is my battle!" She yelled.

Soon, the Tyranitar unleashed a massive torrent of raw energy from its gaping mouth. It was aimed right at Misty. Misty was in pure shock at the power of this creature. Two powerful attacks did nothing to stop it. She was paralyzed with fear at the beam rapidly approaching her. Suddenly, she was knocked to the ground bye Ash.

"Misty, ru" He was cut off by the beam hitting him full force, engulfing his entire body. She couldn't see him through the bright light.

Ash felt as if he was being torn to shreds. The searing pain caused by the energy knocked him out cold after a few seconds.

Finally, the Tyranitar stopped its relentless onslaught and, just as Jesse predicted, the cave began to crumble.

"C'mon, let's book it!" Meowth yelled as the three of them ran out of the hole they had made earlier.

After they left, Misty saw a very large stone emerge from the ground. It was like the others in the cave, but was ten times larger. A blue-white aura surrounded it. The aura made its way over to Ash, lifting his partially charred body off of the ground and into the air.

Suddenly, Ash's eyes were forced open. Images began to flood his mind.

After about ten seconds, Ash was dropped down to the cave floor, and the stone held up the crumbling cave above them. Misty dragged Ash's body out of the cave. When she made it outside, she leaned over Ash's body, tears forming in her eyes.

"Ash, p-please get up. Ash?" She pleaded, but to no avail. He was unconscious. She looked in horror at the wounds he bared. His clothes were ravaged and in tatters. He was burned in several places and had many, many cuts and bruises that were already beginning to bleed. She watched in horror as she saw him bleed out.

Misty soon broke out into tears, clutching his body tightly to hers.

"P-please A-ash. You c-can't die. N-not n-n-now." She stuttered between tears.

There wasn't a Pokemon center or hospital for 20 miles. Fortunately, an idea came to her. Ash always kept many first aid supplies in his bag…which was at camp. She pulled out one of Ash's pokeballs and out came Charizard, Ash's loyal fire dragon. Charizard himself looked in horror at his master's ravaged body.

"Charizard, there isn't much time. We need to get him to back to camp right away!" Misty explained. Charizard nodded and spread his wings and turned his back towards them. Misty, Pikachu, and Togepi all helped to get Ash's body onto Charizard's back. Soon, Charizard took to the skies.

After they made it back to camp, Misty ran, this time holding Ash's body in her arms. Pikachu and Charizard looked on in surprise as they saw Misty carrying the boy with no help at all. She gently laid him down on the floor on the tent. She ripped his bag open and took out every single piece of first aid she could find.

After applying as many bandages as she could, she simply lied next to Ash. She could feel his heart beat, so she knew he was still alive. Soon nightfall came.

"Togepi. You know that Ash is hurt very badly don't you?" Misty asked her small baby who she now held in her arms.

"Toge.." It said, nodding sadly.

"Ok. I need to stay here with him tonight. Would you mind spending the night with Pikachu instead? If you need me I'll be right over here." She said, patting the spot next to Ash.

"Toge? Togeprii!" It trilled, running over to Pikachu, who happily let it sleep with him.

"Pikachu. I know you're very worried about Ash. But I need to be alone with him tonight. I'll take good care of him. I promise." Misty said.

"Pika-Pikachu!" It said. It trusted Misty, and she knew it.

After settling with the other two Pokemon and after cleaning up all the blood left from Ash's wounds, she slipped him into her sleeping bag, which was clean, unlike his blood-stained one.

"Ash, I'm so sorry they did this to you…" She said solemnly, laying his head in her lap. It was the least she could do, given the fact that he had practically saved her life.

"It's ok, Misty." A quiet voice came from Ash's lips.

"Ash! You're awake!" She said softly, so as not to wake up Togepi and Pikachu, who were sound asleep. The young redhead wrapped her arms around him in a tight but not to tight embrace.

"How do you feel?" Misty asked.

"Ungh, it hurts, really bad." He grunted.

"Where does it hurt?" She asked again.

"Everywhere." He said, lying back down on the sleeping bag.

"Ok, I'll go get you some water." She said, standing up.

"Wait! Misty…there's something I need to tell you." Ash admitted, his heart now rising in his chest.

"What is it, Ash?" She said softly.

"Well-I was going to tell you in the cave but…

_I can't believe I'm actually doing this._

Misty…I really really like you. All those years you've been gone I was always thinking about you. I think you're one of the most wonderful people I've ever met and you're very pretty and you smell really good all the time and…yea." He ended, his cheeks now as red as Pikachu's.

Ash was about to say something else, until Misty came crashing down on top of him, squeezing him in the tightest hug he'd ever been in.

"Um, Misty. Does this mean you like me too?" Ash asked hopefully.

"Yes, Ash. I do." She admitted, squeezing him even harder, to the point where he felt as if his bones were about to break.

"M-Misty…t-too t-t-tight." He stuttered.

"Oh…sorry about that. I guess I got a little carried away." She eased up on her vice grip on the already injured boy, still hugging him. Ash slightly returned the hug, as the warmth Misty provided was welcome to his aching body. He relaxed his whole being, just enjoying the moment of being in her arms.

"You have no idea how long I've been waiting to hear you say that, Ash!" She said, rubbing her nose against his. Ash was surprised by this sudden action.

"W-what?" Ash stammered.

"Nothing, you're just a cutie-pie…I love you." She said.

"Uh…I-I love you too, Misty." Ash stuttered once more.

"Oh by the way, I found this in your bag, Ash." Misty pulled out a small, clear bottle with green, viscous fluid in it.

"What is that stuff, again?" Ash asked.

"It's some lotion that should help you with your burns. Now stay still, I'm going to rub this on your back, ok?" Misty said.

"Oh yeah! I remember my mom giving me that when I first...ah…" Ash trailed off as he felt Misty's skillful hands traveled up and down his back, providing the soothing comfort he needed.

"Oh….Misty….that feels…" He couldn't finish the sentence. He was too busy enjoying the pure bliss of being in the redhead's soft embrace, the cool liquid combined with her warm, soft hands was pure ecstasy to him. He could also feel her well-developed chest pressing up against his, which drove his adolescent mind insane.

"How does that feel now, Ash?" Misty whispered in his ear. Ash simply couldn't reply. His senses were driving him borderline crazy and he had never been this close to a girl, at least not in this way.

Ash had always appreciated that about Misty. He'd appreciated how well she could take care of people and pokemon alike. From Azurill and Togepi to Ash, Misty was a fantastic caregiver, and he's rather have her over anyone else any day.

"Pika!" Ash heard from across the tent.

"Pikachu!" Ash rejoiced as his best friend climbed up onto his face and hugged him.

"Toge…" Togepi groggily waddled its way over to Misty, and then fell into her waiting arms.

"Why are you so tired, Togepi?" By now, it was very early in the morning.

"It's probably just worn out by yesterday's events." Ash theorized. Togepi nodded in agreement.

"Aww, you poor thing. Only two days old and going through so much. Here, just take it easy and rest with me, ok?" Misty whispered sweetly as she gently rocked Togepi back and forth. Togepi responded by yawning softly and returning to sleep in Misty's arms. Misty gently put it down and covered it with a small blanket, then kissed it goodnight.

"I'm pretty tired, Misty, I think I'm gonna go back to sleep now." Ash informed her as he rolled over in his sleeping bag.

"Ok, I'll be right here if you need anything." Misty said as she watched Ash wince in pain at his weight rubbing against his cuts and burns. His body was truly a sight to behold. It was either cut, scraped, or burned in almost every possible place. How anyone could stand that kind of pain she had no clue.

"Togepi…" Misty murmured very softly. The young Pokemon opened its small eyes.

"You can sleep with me now if you want, Togepi." Misty whispered gently, patting the space next to her. Togepi was too tired to respond, but slowly walked over to Misty. Misty picked it up and put it next to her, just to speed things along.

"Pika Cha (they're cute)." Pikachu whispered.

"Yea, they sure are." Ash agreed. "Wait, did I just understand what you said!" He shot up out of his sleeping bag.

#########

A/N: As promised, here's the two week update (at least I think it's been two). Hope you enjoy it. I don't like asking for reviews, but it's how I gauge response, so yeah.


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